The Walford located on Walford Road in Sudbury, Ont. on Friday December 21, 2018. John Lappa/Sudbury Star/Postmedia NetworkJohn Lappa /
John Lappa/Sudbury Star

Oxford Living, a newly formed senior housing platform, announced Friday the acquisition of nine Ontario retirement communities, including two in the Nickel City.

The acquisition cost $100 million and represents 648 suites, including about 160 in Sudbury. Locally, the company bought Walford Lasalle, which has 67 units, and Walford Sudbury, which includes 94 units.

“We like Sudbury; it’s a good town and a good spot,” Tim Foster, co-founder of Oxford Living, said Friday. “We’re all from small towns so this feels much more (comfortable) than doing things in Toronto or a bigger city.”

The nine communities acquired include the Blue Mountain Manor in Stayner, King Place in Midland, Inspirit Residences and Maple View Terrace in London, as well as Windsor’s Shoreview At Riverside.

In a release, the company said it plans to “invest to enhance and upgrade these properties and plan significant expansions” at several locations.

“Our plan is to sort of stay the course,” Foster said. “They’re well-run homes that are part of the community so the plan is to not change much – to keep them running the way they’ve been running, to work with the general managers. The goal is to carry on the way we have been. Residents likely won’t notice any difference at all.”

While there are small annual increases to rent, Foster said Oxford will not be increasing rent costs for residents over and above that.

“The plan is to keep everything the same,” he said.

Founded by Oxford Capital Group LLC, a Chicago-based investor-developer, this new platform is a partnership between a New York-based insurance and investment firm, and an experienced Canadian team that will oversee operations while drawing on Oxford’s deep experience in the senior housing and hospitality sectors. Oxford Capital has invested more than $3 billion in senior housing and hospitality assets.

“Consolidating mid-market retirement communities in secondary Ontario markets is an ideal launching pad for Oxford Living,” John W. Rutledge, founder, president and CEO of Oxford Capital Group and CEO of the new affiliate, said in a release. “In Canada, where most institutional investors are focused on high-end properties in urban centres, our strategy is to acquire and operate mid-market assets.”

Foster said the company likes the Sudbury properties, so much so, they may actually expand their local holdings by a “small number” of suites.

“We’ll upgrade, enhance and refresh in the initial months in the common areas, and we’re potentially looking to add units at LaSalle in the medium term, but there are no plans in place currently,” Foster said. “But we like Sudbury as a place to do business and we like the teams at both properties, so we’re excited at the prospect of growing in Sudbury.”